James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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The exhibition will include 24 paintings by the Swedish Belle-Epoque master (1860-1920), along with 22 drawings, photographs, letters, and gifts that Anders Zorn gave Isabella Gardner in 1894. (Above: The Omnibus, 1892.)

(Above: "Frieda Schiff, Later Mrs. Felix M. Warburg," 1894.) The show will be organized in five different segments, including “Zorn and Gardner,” “Society Portraits,” “In the City,” “Country Life,” and “Artist’s Studios.” Highlights include "Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice" (1894), "Night Effect" (1895), and "The Ice Skater" (1898).

10 comments:

Sorry for being lazy and not researching this question myself, but do you (or any readers) happen to know if Zorn and Sargent ever crossed paths to any extent? The fact that they both knew Gardner suggests that they at least knew of each other.

My favorite here is "The Omnibus".Admirable. Where does a sketch end and where begins a finished painting? The passing light effect so faithfully depicted on that lady in the bus lasts just a fraction of a second. In this respect it is a sketch. On the other hand, why should a fleeting thing and passing effect not be recorded in a finished painting in the year of 1892?

between this, the sargents at the Brooklyn musuem and the pre-raphealites @ the national gallery looks like this year is off to a great start.

@ Tom, don't know about Sargent, but I know that Zorn influenced Sorolla(specifically the mrs bacon portrait now at the met) (as did the Skagen painters) I was surprised, as I thought that Sorollas style so 'spanish'.

Thanks for the heads up on this, Jim. My daughter lives in Boston, so this adds one more reason to make another pilgrimage to the amazing and exasperating Gardner Museum. The last time I was there, one of the employees told me there may be changes forthcoming in the lighting and positioning of some paintings. Many incredible paintings -- including one of my all-time favorites, Sargent's watercolor "A Tent in the Rockies" -- are hung very high on the walls and poorly lit. It's in keeping with Mrs. Gardner's wishes that the galleries remain as they were in her lifetime -- and that is much of the charm of this unique museum -- but it can be frustrating.

I am really pleased for the people that will get to see this exhibition - Zorn's work is so inspiring to see in person!

Last weekend, Kate and I took a last visit to the Nationalmuseum here in Stockholm before their years-long closing for renovation, and I spent a lot of time in front of the Zorns - particularly the 1893 version of Omnibus (the version shown here is the earlier one from 1892 - there is a fun story I've heard about how Isabella Gardner met Zorn and acquired it). I love them both, but I think I prefer the '93 - the woman in the painting has a very different personality.

The notes for the painting tell how the critics of time described this Zorn as "ultramodern", and I think it still feels that way over a hundred years later.

I hope the Nationalmuseum will loan some works to the Gardner for this, since no one here will be able to view during that time anyway...